Custom Made Traditional Japanese Panels

Wood in its various forms is beside and around us every day, pulped to make paper and cardboard, chipped to make building-board and pealed to make plywood. A greater volume of wood is used for those purposes than is used in solid form.

I work with solid wood, crafting pieces to enhance your world and delight your eye. I hand craft Furniture and Fittings for homes and offices using both Australian and imported timbers. I favour simple designs offering an understated elegance able to blend with any decore.

In traditional Japanese architecture a "shoji" is a door, window or room divider consisting of translucent paper over a frame made of wood. Japanese shoji screens have been adopted by discerning western homeowners who have recognised their inherent beauty and the affect they have on the appearance of any room into which they are placed. My handcrafted Japanese shoji screens impart a simple elegance and beauty to any room, filtering the light and creating a space of serenity and peace.

Today, everything has a "use-by" date, from mobile phones to motor cars, and so it is with furniture! To the majority of people "value" in furniture is about paying as little as possible, knowing that it will be replaced every few years. The furniture purchased is made of inferior materials and to a poor standard. Essentially it is designed only to last the few years the purchaser is expected to keep it.

Custom made furniture has become increasingly rare, and is considered expensive. Handcrafted, custom made furniture is in fact much better value than mass produced furniture. Properly cared for handmade timber furniture will outlast its owner, antique furniture is proof of that!

Handmade timber furniture, having been handcrafted from solid wood can be refurbished and returned to as new appearance again and again and be repaired if ever damaged. A carefully chosen design will not "date" over time, meaning the furniture does not need to be replaced every few years. The "life cost" of owning custom furniture is far less than that of what I call "limited life" furniture. By Denis Murray.